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Six teams who made the wrong moves in net during this off-season

Rich Peverly, Steve Mason, Chris Kelly

Boston Bruins’ Rich Peverly, center, celebrates his goal against Columbus Blue Jackets’ Steve Mason, left, with teammate Chris Kelly during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 15, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio. The Bruins beat the Blue Jackets 3-2. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

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It’s reasonable to expect NHL teams to make decisions that seem disagreeable from time to time. On occasion, they simply have more information about a given player or situation than the general public. Every now and then, they’re just flat-out wrong even if their hearts and minds are in the right place.

If there’s one area in which teams shouldn’t be given much benefit of the doubt, it’s when they make wild risks with their goalies. The goaltending position can be a very unpredictable one, but smart teams hedge their bets. Here are a few teams who simply dropped the ball this off-season.

Anaheim - Let me start this off by saying that I’m a huge fan of Jonas Hiller. The Swiss-born goalie isn’t underpaid ($4.5 million per year), but he might be underrated. Unfortunately, he’s dealing with vertigo problems that could endanger his career; the unusual malady isn’t exactly something he can “ice” or “walk off” either.

It’s a tough situation for the Ducks, especially since they’re a very budget-conscious team. All of that aside, I still cannot fathom why they wouldn’t try to bring Ray Emery just in case Hiller remains in limbo. Judging by his willingness to accept a meager training camp tryout, Emery probably would have taken a two-way contract, which would have reduced the risk of adding Emery if Hiller ended up fine. Instead, Anaheim might be forced to throw Dan Ellis to the wolves.

James Reimer

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender James Reimer reacts at the final buzzer as his team loses 4-1 to Montreal Canadiens in the Maples Leafs’ final game this NHL hockey season, in Toronto on Saturday, April 9, 2011. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

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Toronto - The Maple Leafs are putting a whole lot of eggs in the James Reimer basket, aren’t they? Brian Burke warned Reimer of the dangers of being a one-hit wonder goalie, but all the motivational ploys in the world can’t change the fact that Reimer has only played 37 games in his career. It’s not the worst gamble on this list, but Burke won’t hear the end of it if Reimer falls flat.

Columbus - Read this post for all you need to know about the Blue Jackets’ blind gamble with Steve Mason, who might as well be a cautionary tale for Reimer. Columbus decided to double down on risk when they allowed experienced backup Mathieu Garon to depart via free agency in favor of Mark Dekanich, who has exactly one NHL game on his resume.

Edmonton - Obviously, the Oilers are in a pickle because they cannot get rid of Nikolai Khabibulin’s 35+ contract. Still, the Oilers decided to stand idly by and hope for the best, which means that their starting goalie battle will come down to Khabibulin vs. Devan Dubynk. Even Fox’s Celebrity Boxing matches were less depressing.

Jason Pominville, Brad Boyes, Jose Theodore

Buffalo Sabres’ Jason Pominville (29) celebrates with teammate Brad Boyes, right, after scoring on Minnesota Wild goalie Jose Theodore during the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, March 6, 2011, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Genevieve Ross)

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Florida - The Panthers’ situation might be the least acceptable of all because they had the most options. Going into the off-season, it made sense that they would part ways with Tomas Vokoun. Yet when you consider that the Panthers were basically dying to give away money and Vokoun needed a home, was it unreasonable for them to give the statistical darling of a netminder a hefty one-year deal? Maybe he wouldn’t have taken it, but whatever gains they made with their ridiculous free agent spending spree might be lost thanks the enormous talent gap between Vokoun and odds-on starter Jose Theodore.

Phoenix - I think Mike Smith could make a nice career for himself as an above average backup, much like Dan Ellis. The problem is that he’s the Coyotes starting goalie, which means he’ll get little goal support and less defensive help than some might expect (at least if Phoenix’s troubling 2010-11 shots allowed stats weren’t a fluke). Smith probably wouldn’t be in this situation if not for Dave Tippett, so we’ll see if the 2009-10 Jack Adams award winner is as brilliant as he seemed two seasons ago. Logic points to things getting ugly in the desert.

Two teams who could go either way

Islanders (if they trade Evgeni Nabokov) - You can kiss that “dark horse candidate” talk goodbye if the Isles hitch their hopes to Al Montoya and Rick DiPietro. That might be the same if Nabby sticks around, although that situation would be a whole lot more interesting.

Colorado - For some strange reason, I have a weird feeling that the Semyon Varlamov experiment might just work out for the Avalanche. That being said, they overpaid to get both of their goalies so that’s often a recipe for disaster.
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Again, goalies can be an unpredictable bunch. It’s possible that one or more of these teams could find a Sergei Bobrovsky-type prospect who comes out of nowhere to save their season. That being said, I think that the Ducks, Blue Jackets, Maple Leafs, Oilers, Coyotes and Panthers will kick themselves for their decisions during this off-season. Where do you come in on these and other teams’ situations in net, though? Let us know in the comments.